In HKIEd's Annual Report last year, the President reviewed the year through a friendly "Dialogue" with the editorial team. The format received such positive feedback that the editorial team once again decided to conduct an in-depth interview with the President.
   
Q: How would you describe 2004-2005?
A: It has been an important year for HKIEd. During this time, we saw a number of milestone developments on the academic front while several critical organisational issues were also tackled.

These academic developments include:

The critical and on-going processes to both upgrade and diversify the range of programmes we offer.
The new academic structure which came into effect from September 2005 to better reflect our self-accrediting status.
The spearheading of in-depth collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), which I will elaborate on a little later.

First of all, let me talk about our programmes. In 2004-05, we made considerable headway with the introduction of the Institute's first Master of Education and our full-time Bachelor of Early Childhood Education Programmes in Hong Kong. The former marks a significant milestone in our development - in line with other universities in Hong Kong, we have moved beyond simply offering undergraduate programmes. This diversification not only enriches our academic programmes, it also enables the Institute to better meet the different and rapidly changing needs, brought about by the education reforms, of teachers.

Secondly, the academic structure. In order that we can respond more quickly to new and changing demands from the community, we have reduced the number of decision-making centres and layers of line management so that policies and changes can now be formulated more readily and efficiently. Under our wellaligned structure, the Institute will operate like other universities, with major academic and research developments being coordinated at the Institute level and implementation taking place at the Faculty and Department levels. During the year, we also began preparing a five-year strategic plan for the Institute, consulting staff, students and key stakeholders in the process.

Q: Why did HKIEd enter into collaboration with CUHK?
A: Both HKIEd and CUHK possess strengths that are complementary. By entering into collaboration, both institutions will strengthen their abilities to provide the highest quality teacher education, especially for secondary school teachers, for the community. Students will benefit by being able to gain the relevant subject knowledge at CUHK while receiving their professional training at HKIEd, and eventually earning a joint degree from both institutions. Another positive outcome of the collaboration is that it will strengthen research capacities at both institutions, in addition to also expediting the introduction of research post-graduate student supervision at HKIEd.
Q: Can you talk about the teacher demand and supply situation? What can Hong Kong do about it and how can HKIEd attract additional students?
A: Over the past few years, there have been widely-held views that there would be massive teacher redundancies with new teachers remaining unemployed because of the declining birth rate. In stark contrast to these forecasts, our graduates have enjoyed high employment rates, coupled with very positive feedback from their employers. In Hong Kong, the demand for teachers is not merely driven by changes in the school age population, it is also strongly influenced by government policies and initiatives. These include: the introduction of the specialist subject teacher scheme, the Voluntary Departure Scheme for serving teachers, and the one-line budget system which has provided greater flexibility in teacher employment. Consequently, we are now seeing a renewed demand for primary school teachers. Unfortunately, to meet this need, a number of schools have once again begun employing untrained teachers. This is worrying as it can undermine the recent education reforms, which require top quality and professionally trained teachers.

Further exacerbating the perception that there is an over-supply of teachers, is the declining attractiveness of teaching as a profession. In recent years, teacher education institutions have found it difficult to attract the top level of secondary school leavers into the teaching profession. The community should therefore consider adopting the strategies which have been successfully used elsewhere to attract young people into the profession. These include awarding scholarships, waiving tuition fees for students of teacher education and paying students during their teaching practice periods.
 
  At HKIEd, apart from the Joint University Programmes Admission Scheme (JUPAS), we are increasingly attracting students through non-JUPAS channels and through international recruitment drives - last year for example, the number of non-JUPAS entrants doubled. The diverse backgrounds of non-JUPAS entrants, who have worked as social workers, air-hostesses, businessmen, bank clerks and lawyers in their previous jobs, also provide an invaluable asset in their teaching careers.

The recruitment of international students is another area where we have broadened our profile. Currently the majority of our international students come from the mainland and from countries such as Australia and Ghana in West Africa. Our diverse range of exchange programmes, student visits and immersion programmes also provides our students with an opportunity to broaden their horizons. Students returning from these experiences are more adaptable, culturally aware and receptive to new ideas. This diversity enriches and enhances life on campus.